The role of the opioid system in decision making and cognitive control: A review

Steenbergen, Henk van; Eikemo, Marie; Leknes, Siri

doi:10.31234/osf.io/ws9dr

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 140 publications

(178 reference statements)

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“…These results based on T1-weighted MR imaging or [18F]-FDG-PET are however unspecific with respect to the underlying neurobiology, whereas the present data point towards altered opioidergic neurotransmission as a potential molecular mechanism. Because ACC and insulae are involved in both affective and executive functions impaired in MDD [ 54 , 55 ], this also fits with the data showing that opioidergic system modulates both executive [ 2 ] and affective functions [ 1 ]. Age is strong predictor of MOR availability [ 35 , 56 ] and this effect—negative associations in midbrain/amygdala and positive associations in frontal and temporal cortex—was also observed in this sample (data not shown).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety

Nummenmaa

Karjalainen

Isojärvi

et al. 2020

Neuropsychopharmacol.

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Major depressive disorder is associated with lowered mood, anxiety, anhedonia, sleep problems, and cognitive impairments. Many of these functions are regulated by μ-opioid receptor (MOR) system. Preclinical, in vivo, and post-mortem studies have however yielded inconclusive results regarding the role of the MOR in depression and anxiety. Moreover, it is not known whether alterations in MOR are already present in subclinical depression and anxiety. In a large-scale retrospective cross-sectional study we pooled data from 135 (113 males and 22 females) healthy subjects whose brain’s MOR availability was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) using an agonist radioligand [ 11 C]carfentanil that has high affinity for MORs. Depressive and anxious symptomology was addressed with BDI-II and STAI-X questionnaires, respectively. Both anxiety and depression scores in the subclinical range were negatively associated with MOR availability in cortical and subcortical areas, notably in amygdala, hippocampus, ventral striatum, and orbitofrontal and cingulate cortices. We conclude that dysregulated MOR availability is involved in altered mood and pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety

Nummenmaa

Karjalainen

Isojärvi

et al. 2020

Neuropsychopharmacol.

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“…The acute use of these substances (single agent or combinations) may be short‐lived and therefore require repeat assessments. There is growing evidence that substance use disorder or withdrawal can also alter decision‐making capacity …”

Section: Special Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing psychiatric safety in suicidal emergency department patients

et al. 2020

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We provide a review of the assessment of suicidal emergency department patients and includes a legal and ethical perspective. Screening tools and psychiatric consultation are important adjuncts to the ED evaluation of potentially suicidal patients. Suicide risk should be assessed, and if positive, an appropriate and safe disposition should be arranged. The aim of this article is to review these assessment tools and consider ethical issues, such as patient autonomy, accountability of the emergency physician, and consultant to Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) as well as confidentiality, privacy, and social issues.

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“…However, as found in numerous studies relating to the so-called 'rationality debate' (see, e.g., [28], [44]; see [26] for a brief outline), choices and decisions in real life are often adopted in substantial discordance with norms of rationality. There exists a growing body of literature on the role of the value-network (commonly referred to as the reward system) in decision-making under various circumstances ( [38], [24], [45], [2]). The value-system plays the role of the arbiter in conflict resolution, which is of central relevance indecisionmaking.…”

Section: Free Willmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Problem of Induction and the Problem of Free Will

Lahiri¹

2020

Preprint

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This essay presents a point of view for looking at `free will', with the purpose of interpreting where exactly the freedom lies. For, freedom is what we mean by it. It compares the exercise of free will with the making of inferences, which usually is predominantly inductive in nature. The making of inference and the exercise of free will, both draw upon psychological resources that define our ‘selves’. I examine the constitution of the self of an individual, especially the involvement of personal beliefs, personal memories, affects, emotions, and the hugely important psychological value-system, all of which distinguish the self of one individual from that of another. Of central relevance is the psychological value-network around which the affect system is organized, the latter, in turn, being the axis around which is assembled the self, with all its emotional correlates. The self is a complex system. I include a brief outline of what complexity consists of. It is in the background of complexity that the issue of determinism is viewed in this essay. Instead of looking at determinism as a grand principle entrenched in nature independent of our interpretation of it, I look at our ability to explain and to predict events and phenomena around us, which is made possible by the existence of causal links running in a complex course that set up correlations between diverse parts of nature, in this way putting the stamp of necessity on these events. However, our ability to explain and predict in matters relating to acts of free will is similarly limited by the operations of the self that remain hidden from our own awareness. The aspects of necessity and determinism appear to us in the form of reason and rationality that explain and predict only within a limited horizon, while the rest depends on the complex operation of self-linked psychological resources, where the latter appear as contingent in the context of the exercise of free will.The hallmark of complex systems is the existence of amplifying factors that operate as destabilizing ones, along with inhibiting or stabilizing factors as well that generally limit the destabilizing influences to local occurrences, while preserving the global integrity of a system. This complex interplay of destabilizing and stabilizing influences lead to the possibility of an enormous number of distinct modes of behavior that appear as emergent phenomena in complex systems. Looking at the particular case of the self of an individual that guide her actions and thoughts, it is the operation of our emotions, built around the psychological value-system, that provide for the amplifying and inhibiting factors mentioned above. The operation of these that provides the basis of our idea of free will. Free will is not ‘free’ in virtue of exemption from causal links running through all our self-based processes - ones that remain hidden from our awareness, but is free of what is perceived to be ‘reason and rationality’ based on knowledge and the common pool of beliefs and principles associated with a shared world-view. Free will is ‘free’ precisely because it is not subject to constraints of a commonly accepted and shared set of principles, beliefs, and values. What is of greater relevance here is the operation of emotion-driven processes, guided by the psychological value-system based on the activity of the so-called reward-punishment network in the brain. These processes lead the individual to a response that appears to be free from the shackles of determinism precisely because their mechanisms, which are hidden from us, do not conform to commonly accepted and shared rules and principles. In contrast, inductive inference is a process that is based on the ‘cognitive face’ of self, where the self-based psychological resources play a supportive role to the commonly shared world-view of an individual.The closest thing to freedom that we can have in our life comes with self-examination and self-improvement. The possibility of self-examination appears in the form of specific conjunctions between our complex self-processes and the ceaseless changes of scenario in our external world. This actually makes the emergent phenomenon of self-examination a matter of chance, but one that keeps on appearing again and again in our life. Once realized, self examination creates possibilities that would not be there in the absence of it, and these possibilities include the enhancement of further self-enrichment and further diversity in the exercise of our free will.

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The role of the opioid system in decision making and cognitive control: A review

Cited by 14 publications

References 140 publications

Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety

Lowered endogenous mu-opioid receptor availability in subclinical depression and anxiety

Assessing psychiatric safety in suicidal emergency department patients

The Problem of Induction and the Problem of Free Will

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